Excel 2007 Tutorials

Data Forms in Excel 2007

If your spreadsheet is too big to manage, and you constantly have to scroll back and forward just to enter data, then a Data Form could make your life easier. To see what a Data Form is, we'll construct a simple spreadsheet. You need to add the Data Form icon to your Quick Access toolbar, before beginning this lesson.

But aData Form is just a way to quickly enter data into a cell. It is used when the spreadsheet is too big for the screen. To get a clearer idea of what a data form is, try this.

Enter January in Cell A1 of a new spreadsheet
AutoFill the rest of the months to December
Now, highlight the columns A1 to L1 (click on the letter A and drag to letter L)
On the Home menu from Excel 2007, locate the Cells panel
On the Cells panel, click the Format item
From the Format menu, click Width

Changbe the Column Width in Excel 2007

Enter a value of say 20 for the Column Width, and click OK
Some of your months should disappear from the spreadsheet

The problem is, if you have to enter data under each month, you'd have to scroll across to complete the row. And then scroll back again to start a new row. Instead of doing this, we'll create a Data Form. You then enter data in the form to complete a row on your spreadsheet. No more scrolling back and forth!

Type any number you like in cell A2, under January. Then type a number in cell B2 for February. Now highlight the columns A to L again. This is so that Excel 2007 will know which are the column headings and which is the data.

Click the Form item you have just added to the Quick Access toolbar:

You should then see this:

All the Columns in the spreadsheet are now showing. Enter numbers for the other months. To start a new row in your spreadsheet, you just click the New button on the right.

In the next part, you'll see how to add drop down lists to an Excel 2007 spreadsheet.

Microsoft Excel 2007

Data Forms in Excel 2007